Purpose:
To explain our revised procedure under which we will no longer
process a subsequent disability claim if you already have a claim under
the same title and of the same type pending in our administrative review
process.

In 1999, we adopted a procedure that allowed us to
process a subsequent
disability claim while your prior disability claim was pending at the
Appeals Council level of our administrative review process.

Under that procedure, if you filed a subsequent
application for
disability benefits while you had a disability claim pending at the
Appeals Council, we sent your subsequent claim to the disability
determination services (DDS) or similar case-processing center for
development and adjudication. If we denied your subsequent application
at the earlier stages, and you requested a hearing before an
administrative law judge (ALJ), the hearing office took no action until
the Appeals Council completed its action on your prior claim.

We have seen an increase in the number of
subsequent disability claims
in recent years. When two disability claims under the same title and
type are pending at the same time, there can be conflicting decisions
that we must then reconcile. Subsequent claims may result in improper
payments, increased administrative costs, and unnecessary workloads
stemming from duplication. Because of these problems and the
significant increase in the number of initial disability claims that we
have experienced in recent years, we are changing our procedures for
handling subsequent applications for disability claims of the same title
and type.

Under the new procedures we are adopting in this Ruling,
generally you
will no longer be allowed to have two claims for the same type of
benefits pending at the same time. If you want to file a new disability
claim under the same title and of the same type as a disability claim
pending at any level of administrative review, you will have to choose
between pursuing your administrative review rights on the pending
disability claim or declining to pursue further administrative review
and filing a new application. This Ruling explains our new procedures.

If You Choose to Pursue Your
Pending Disability Claim Instead of Filing
a New Claim Under the Same Title and of the Same Type

If you decide to pursue your administrative review rights on the pending
disability claim, we will not accept your subsequent application for
benefits under the same title and for the same type of benefit as the
pending claim. Although we will not accept your subsequent application
while your prior disability claim is pending administrative review, you
can still provide us with evidence that is relevant to your pending
claim, in accordance with our existing regulations and procedures. Our
technological improvements, such as Electronic Records Express and
electronic alerts and messages, enable our offices to communicate with
one another faster and more efficiently and act on additional evidence
promptly. If the additional evidence indicates a critical or dire need
situation, we will act expeditiously.

Claim Pending at Initial,
Reconsideration, or Hearing Level

The procedures in this Ruling do not preclude you from reporting new
medical conditions or a worsening in your existing medical conditions,
and you can submit additional evidence on these matters. We will
forward any additional evidence you submit to the office that is
handling the pending claim so that it can be associated with that claim.

You can submit any information or evidence that you feel is
helpful to your pending disability claim. See
20 CFR 404.900(b) and
416.1400(b).
In adjudicating the pending disability claim, we will consider the
information and evidence you submit, together with all the other
information in the claim folder. Id.

Claim Pending with the Appeals
Council

If you choose to pursue your disability claim that is
pending at the
Appeals Council, and you submit additional evidence, the Appeals Council
will first determine whether the additional evidence relates to the
period on or before the date of the hearing decision. When the
additional evidence is new and material and relates to the period on or
before the date of the hearing decision, the Appeals Council will
consider it, together with the entire record.
20 CFR 404.970(b),
416.1470(b), and
405.373.[1]
The Appeals Council will review your case if
it finds that the ALJ's action, findings, or conclusion is contrary to
the weight of the evidence currently of record. Id.

If the new and
material evidence that relates to the period on or before the date of
the hearing decision shows a critical or disabling condition, the
Appeals Council will expedite its review of your pending claim.

When
the additional evidence does not relate to the period on or before the
date of your hearing decision, the Appeals Council will return the
additional evidence to you.
20 CFR 404.976(b),
416.1476(b).
The notice returning the additional evidence will explain why the
Appeals Council
did not accept the evidence and inform you that, under certain
circumstances, we will consider the date you filed the request for
Appeals Council review as the filing date for your new claim. If you
originally filed for disability benefits under title II, and you file a
new application for title II disability benefits within six months of
the date of this notice, we will use the date of your request for
Appeals Council review as the filing date. If both applications are for
Supplemental Security Income payments based on disability under title
XVI, and you file the new application within 60 days from the date of
the notice, we will use the date you requested Appeals Council review as
the filing date for the new claim. We will permit the filing of a new
disability claim after the Appeals Council completes its action on the
request for review of the pending claim.

If the additional evidence that does not relate to
the period on or
before your hearing decision shows a new critical or disabling
condition, and you tell us that you want to file a new claim based on
this evidence, the Appeals Council may permit you to file a new
disability claim before it completes its action on your request for
review of the pending claim.

If You Choose to Decline Further Review of Your Pending Disability Claim
and Instead File a New Claim Under the Same Title and of the Same Type

If, on the other hand, you decide to decline to pursue further
administrative review on the pending disability claim and file a new
application, we will assess your eligibility for any other benefits and
take applications for these benefits. When you received an unfavorable
or partially favorable decision from us on your pending claim, we
explained the effect that not pursuing an appeal might have on your
possible entitlement to benefits.

If Your Subsequent Claim Does Not Involve the Same Title or Type of
Benefit

This Ruling does not change the procedure we currently follow when you
file a subsequent claim under a different title or for a different
benefit type than a pending claim. When a subsequent claim under a
different title or for a different benefit type shares a common issue
with the pending claim, we will usually consolidate it with the pending
claim through the hearing level. When you file a subsequent claim that
is under a different title or is for a different benefit type and your
prior claim is pending review at the Appeals Council, we will process
the subsequent claim in accordance with our current procedures.

[1]
In the six states that comprise our Boston Region (Maine, New
Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut), the
Appeals Council must consider whether the evidence relates to the period
on or before the hearing decision, whether there is a reasonable
probability that the evidence would change the outcome of the decision,
and one of the following: 1) our action misled you; 2) you had a
physical, mental, educational, or linguistic limitation(s) preventing
you from submitting the evidence earlier; or 3) some other unusual,
unexpected, or unavoidable circumstance beyond the your control that
prevented you from submitting the evidence earlier.
20 CFR 405.373.